The Loveland Sports Weekly Roundup

As the spring sports season heads toward the postseason, Loveland teams continue to pile up championships, standout performances, and memorable moments across nearly every sport. The Tigers captured conference titles in both girls track and field and boys tennis, while boys volleyball and both lacrosse teams surged into the playoffs with momentum. Baseball and softball continued to showcase some of the ECC’s top individual talent, with several Tigers climbing the conference leaderboards in major statistical categories. From dominant relay teams and record-setting performances to clutch postseason wins, Loveland athletes once again delivered another packed week of success across the board.

Track and Field

Loveland’s girls had a huge conference meet, winning their seventh straight ECC championship title. They were at the top with 145.5 points. The Tigers had first-place finishes from the 4x800 relay team of Todd, Sherman, Cilley, Murnan, Tew, Kaszyca, Droessler and Mentzer, along with Delaney Cilley in both the 800 run and 1600 run. Alleah Dancy won discus, Natalie Niese won shot put, and Caroline Murnan added wins in both the 200 dash and 400 dash.

Loveland also had several other top-three finishes on the girls side. Taylor Or Sylvester placed second in high jump, while the 4x400 relay team of Waple, Murnan, Todd, Cilley, Kaszyca, Sherman and Manly also finished second. Natalie Waple took third in both the 100 hurdles and 300 hurdles, the 4x200 relay team of Motylinski, Giambrone, Waple and Niese placed third, Natalie Niese added a third-place finish in discus, and Brynleigh Sherman was third in the 800 run.

On the boys side, Grant Yoxthimer led the way with a first-place finish in the 110 hurdles. Gavin Albrecht was second in pole vault, while Jake Thompson added another top-three finish by placing third in pole vault. Tyler Schwinn also finished third in high jump.

Baseball

Loveland Baseball faced some tough opposition last week, and unfortunately dropped back to back games to Turpin (7-2) and Milford (6-5 in extra innings). However, before that they clobbered Winton Woods twice, Moeller, and Milford by an impressive combined score of 45-3.

In their initial win against Milford, Greyson Wagner led the way by going 2-for-3 with a run, an RBI, and a stolen base. Blake Hatfield drove in three runs, while Lawson Colletta, Rylan Litchfield, and Luke Zicka each drove in a run.

Drew Oerther continued to see respect in the batters box, walking four times. He’s now drawn 22 walks on the season to pump up his OBP to .570. That’s good for third in the ECC.

As the season ramps up to an exciting finish, the Tigers have several players on or atop the ECC leaderboard. Blake Carrigan and Oerther are tied for first in home runs with five each, while Oerther is also tied for third in RBIs with 23. On the mound, he also ranks second in the league with 48 strikeouts.

Boy’s Volleyball

Boy’s Volleyball has stormed through the postseason red hot, with straight set wins over Trotwood-Madison and Taylor. Against Trotwood, Loveland finished with 33 kills, 31 assists, 22 aces, 22 digs and 14 points.

Gavin McWaters had 6 kills, 4 aces and 2 digs. Clay Bebout also had 6 kills, while Evan Ledford and Colin Shepherd each had 5. Ty Stokes stood out serving with 19 total serves and 6 aces.

The Tigers will take on fellow volleyball powerhouse McNicholas on Wednesday. Loveland already took them down earlier in the year, 25-15, 25-11, 22-25, 25-19 in a thriller. The rematch should be just as electric.

Boy’s Tennis

Loveland Boy’s Tennis took the ECC Championship this past week, its first since 2018-2019. Bode Zappin took 1st place at 1st Singles, giving Loveland the top finish in the strongest singles flight. Ethan Deck followed that with another 1st place finish at 2nd Singles, while Aiden Murray added a 3rd place finish at 3rd Singles. That gave Loveland two singles champions and a top-three finish in all three singles spots. The Tigers were just as strong in doubles. Beckett Zappin and Marlee Fleming won 1st Doubles, and Alex Hill and Luke Slater also took 1st place at 2nd Doubles.

They then marched into the postseason, where Zappin took first at the Division One Sectional Tournament and will continue on in his run towards a state title!

Loveland Softball

In these past weeks, the Tigers went 4-2, with wins over Winton Woods twice, Mount Notre Dame, and Walnut Hills. The Tigers beat Winton Woods 26-13 and 13-1 on the same day, then followed it with a 17-9 win over Mount Notre Dame. They later added a 12-8 win over Walnut Hills. The two losses were a 16-0 defeat at Milford and a 9-2 loss at Lebanon to being their record to 13-11 (10-8).

On the leaderboards, Summer Rohlfs is second in the ECC with a .516 batting average and is also tied for fourth with five home runs. Olivia Williams ranks fourth in batting average at .487 and fifth in RBIs with 37, giving the Tigers two of the top hitters in the league in multiple categories. Helena Keeton has also been a major run producer, tied for the conference lead with 40 RBIs.

Loveland has also gotten strong work in the circle from Rylee Ripperger, who ranks fourth in the conference with 10 wins.

Loveland Boy’s Lacrosse

Our lacrosse squad concluded their regular season strong and continued that strong play in the playoffs. During this stretch they had two strong wins over Lebanon, beating the Warriors 11-3 on May 5 and then rolling to a 17-6 postseason victory on May 16. The Tigers’ only loss in the span came against Milford in a 17-5 game on May 12.

In that postseason win over Lebanon, Rocco Filia led the way with five goals and two assists, while Luke Daugherty added four goals and an assist. Lincoln Boldizar also had a strong game with three goals and two assists, while Austin Boehmer chipped in two goals and an assist.

Loveland Girls Lacrosse

After a loss to Milford, the Tigers finished the regular season strong with wins over Oak Hills and St. Ursula. The Tigers fell to Milford 15-6 on May 7, but bounced back with a strong 13-4 win against Oak Hills on May 11. They then carried that momentum into the postseason with a 13-8 victory over St. Ursula in the playoffs that will see their great run continue!